The 13th annual Wright Dialogue With Industry, hosted by the Air Force Research Laboratory, saw more than 600 registrants, making it the largest WDI ever.
The event, titled “AFRL Science and Technology Supporting the National Defense Strategy,†was held from July 17 to 19 in Dayton, Ohio, featured presentations, panel discussions, open forums and one-on-one sessions between senior Air Force officials and defense contractors, Wright-Patterson AFB said Friday.
During the dialogue, Maj. Gen. William Cooley, AFRL commander, discussed technologies outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy that the AFRL is focusing on, including hypersonics, directed energy, autonomy, biotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence, big data analytics and quantum computing.
Cooley also discussed the launching of the Air Force Science and Technology 2030 website, where visitors can submit ideas for innovative technology to be evaluated by a panel of national experts and AFRL researchers.
Ideas that stood out will be included in a report to the Air Force secretary due in September.
Other key speakers for the event were Valerie Muck, member of the senior executive service and director of the Defense Department‘s Air Force Small Business Programs; Tom Lockhart, also a member of the senior executive service and director of the AFRL Plans and Programs and Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation directorates; Dr. Steven “Cap” Rogers, the AFRL’s senior scientist for autonomy; and Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson.